Tag Archives: Training

Zwift Island

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Today’s coaches corner looks once more at how to make those long rides on the training bike / turbo / WattBike more bearable.

In a previous coaches corner I gave you a number of ways to break up that long run alternate on the turbo trainer / WattBike when the weather means you can’t go outside. Yes you could ride outside in the wet conditions, but naturally there’s a greater risk of injury and therefore you might take the session too easy and negate the benefits of your endurance ride. At the moment you have to sign up and then wait for your invite. They are consistently adding new content and they have recently changed the island. Its free at the moment but I guess it will be subscription based at some point.

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Hills & Flat Riding

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Today coaches corner is all about the merits of hills and / or riding the flats. Why and when will aid you towards achieving your goal.

Winter hills: winter is all about building that strong base. Making your legs stronger will aid you come the increase in intensity during the season. Riding hills takes practice, knowing what gear to use, what cadence range, how much power you should be generating. Either way, riding hills will make you stronger. BUT if you only ever do hills, then will lose that cutting edge which riding the faster fasts can do, (see below).

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Recovery

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Todays focus for coaches corner is all about recovery.

‘Recovery‘ for most athletes can be seen as a dirty word, a sign of weakness that you can’t cope mentally or physically with the demands of the sport & training. However recovery is key to progression and success. Rest can be more benefical to an athlete than training on through which can cause more harm than good. If you are needing that rest / recovery and try to train hard, the failure of the session could affect the mind set and this is simply avoidable by listening to the body.

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Core development & stretching

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The legend of Yoga that is Lexie Williamson asked today’s coaches corner question. What core exercises should cyclist do to improve their core & what stretches.

Cycling can over time put stress on our lower backs due to the lack of strength and or fatigue towards the end of a long ride. Sitting in the saddle up hills also strains the lumber region as we look to use out legs to cycle up the hill. As a result the hamstrings pull on the pelvis and over time this gets tired. Having a strong core will reduce the aches and pains we get and help improve efficiency in the bike.

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How often to test & what test to do

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Susie posed today’s Coaches Corner question about Testing. She wanted to know How often we should test and What tests we should do.

Testing periodically is key to monitoring progress and checking whether the previous weeks / months training is working. If you have positive test data, then you can imply that the training is working. If the data is however not what you expected, it could come down to breaks in the training phase due to illness, injury or missed session or could indicate the the structure of the sessions are no appropriate.

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Training zones & terminology

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Today’s corner is all about Training Zones and the terminology associated with them.

The body has two clear energy systems, aerobic (with oxygen) and anaerobic (without oxygen). Anaerobic is divided into two. PC (Phosphate Creatine) which is about dynamic power / speed for 2-10sec. The second is LA (Lactic Acid) which is about sustained power / speed for 10 – 60sec. You’ve heard of lactic acid as its the bi product produced by the body due to the lack of oxygen in the body for the working muscles.

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What wetsuit?

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Mike Tumilty posed the latest Coaches Corner – What wetsuit and is there a difference between a budget £100 & a top end wetsuit?

Well, with the season fast approaching and the lakes soon to open up. It could be time to dust off that wetsuit. However, if you have had that suit for years & years or it’s got more holes than a string vest, it could be time to open up ya wallet.

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Group riding

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Today’s coaches corner is looking at Group Riding.

When riding in a group, there are a number of things you should know, do and avoid in order to ensure that the group is safe, productive & effective. Here’s a basic guide.

Single line or two-a-breast?
A certain times you can look to adopt either riding position in a group. Knowing when & why will aid for a safer and more enjoyable ride.

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